Celebrate Fourth of July at Aurora's Tanner House Museum

Aurorans can participate in old-fashioned Independence Day fun on Monday, July 4, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Tanner House Museum, 304 Oak Ave, in Aurora's historic Tanner District.

Enjoy performances by the Bradley Keven Green blues trio at 11 a.m. on the front lawn, and Andy Head, the Wild Wacky Juggler, at noon.

Enjoy a patriotic concert by American Legion Post 84 band at 1:05 p.m.

There also will be a petting zoo, a blueberry-pie-eating contest, traditional kids' games, and more. Buy some hot dogs, old-fashioned sodas, and Oberweis ice cream at nominal cost.

Free tours of the 1857 Tanner House will be offered.

At precisely 1 p.m., the children present will ring the historic bells on the lawn in observation of this tradition begun by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. It has been a tradition in Aurora for 55 years.

Members of the Aurora Noon Lions Club will observe their 100th anniversary and the Cosmopolitan Club of Aurora invites visitors to celebrate their 95th anniversary.

Admission is free, but visitors are invited to contribute to the "Tomorrow's Landmark" project that will fund the purchase of a catalpa tree to replace the old maple that was recently lost to age and disease.

Built in 1857, this Italianate-style house was the home to prominent merchant William Tanner and his family. The family-owned the home until 1936 when it was donated to the Aurora Historical Society. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

For information, visit www.aurorahistory.net/visit/tanner-house/ or www.facebook.com/AuroraHistory.